Montreal to break up with CREA?

The Montreal Board says they have had enough of broken promises and want to end their working relationship with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). &nbsp;After 16 months of dispute over fees and services, the Montreal board are annoyed that out-of-province brokers are allowed to list Quebec homes on realtor.ca and MLS.ca. Following an agreement between the Competition Bureau and CREA in 2010, homeowners can sell their properties on realtor.ca by paying a broker a flat fee. Unlike other Canadian provinces, Quebec brokers have to verify that the listing information is correct. The Montreal board,&nbsp; under the guidance of President Patrick Juanéda, has asked CREA to respect its own Brokerage act and take down the listings which they call 'illegal.'The fallout between the two boards arose in July 2012 with Montreal threatening to leave the national association if they did not cut members’ expenses. It has not turned into a war of words between the two. Montreal says CREA has failed to deliver on its promises, and they will make a final decision on whether to remain a member by mid-December. CREA, on the other hand, says they remain ready to engage in conversation with all Quebec boards.&nbsp;

Good for the Montreal board for standing up to CREA over these discount brokerages who do our service a disfavour by cheapening our industry by not providing any services. They advertise that their clients only pay a posting fee, but leave out the FACT that most Realtors expect to be paid for bringing a buyer. And getting paid by the buyer, while possible, just means it's not a level playing field. Buyers will want the property for less than market price to cover their fees. I think our associations should have fought harder to preserve our SERVICE industry.

And if the Montreal board leaves CREA, how will that stop the 'illegal' practice of having out of province brokerages list Quebec property on realtor.ca and mls.ca? Sounds like much ado about very little.

If montreal opts out, then the only listing on Realtor.ca from montreal will be these mere postings. Making it the not goto place to look for properties in Montreal. Imagin if Toronto and other major cities did that? Realtor.ca would be useless... not a bad idea.